Even as Idealab was packing away its most high-profile failure, eToys, the cursed incubator also closed its Silicon Valley hatchery.

The eToys Web site was scheduled to go dark early this morning, after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But the 33 staff at the Palo Alto, Calif., office will soon be moving in with other start-ups in the Valley. The staff provided services such as accounting, human resources and engineering.

Bill Gross’s bean counters have decided they can save money by moving all “idea-creation activities” south to the company’s headquarters in Pasadena.

The boffins and bright sparks in Palo Alto will be “given the opportunity to transition their employment to one of the operating companies . . . wherever possible,” said a statement by the company.

The move will occur over the next few weeks, according to Idealab spokeswoman Teresa Bridwell.

The office was opened in the fall of 1999 in Sunnyvale before moving to Palo Alto last fall.

The company’s three remaining offices – besides its Pasadena headquarters – are in New York, Boston and London.

Idealab, which also gave the world Eve.com, Cooking.com and MyBiz.com, has retrenched since October when it pulled its $300 million IPO.

At the time of its launch, Idealab was designed to provide Silicon Valley start-ups with “development strategies, operating tools and financial support,” the company said.

The office worked with existing Bay Area Idealab companies EntryPoint (formerly PointCast), Utility.com, and OpenSales.com.